Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Is classroom technology actually working?

School districts always roll out technology adoptions with a great deal of fanfare. But what happens a year later, when the new ipads are yesterday's news? It is perhaps too early to say, but classroom technology follow-up stories are few and far between. Here is one from the New York Times which paints a somewhat pessimistic picture about the effectiveness of digital technology in the classroom.

“This is such a dynamic class,” Ms. Furman says of her 21st-century classroom. “I really hope it works.”

Hope and enthusiasm are soaring here. But not test scores.

Since 2005, scores in reading and math have stagnated in Kyrene, even as statewide scores have risen. To be sure, test scores can go up or down for many reasons. But to many
education experts, something is not adding up — here and across the
country. In a nutshell: schools are spending billions on technology,
even as they cut budgets and lay off teachers, with little proof that
this approach is improving basic learning.

This conundrum calls into question one of the most significant
contemporary educational movements. Advocates for giving schools a major
technological upgrade — which include powerful educators, Silicon
Valley titans and White House appointees — say digital devices let
students learn at their own pace, teach skills needed in a modern
economy and hold the attention of a generation weaned on gadgets.